MOLECULAR DETECTION AND PHYLOGENETIC ANALYSIS OF BABESIA VOGELI INFECTIONS IN DOGS OF THRISSUR, KERALA, INDIA.

Babesiosis in dogs is a severe, lifethreatening blood parasite disease that is found all over the world. The molecular detection and phylogenetic analysis of Babesia vogeli (B. vogeli) was investigated in dogs from Thrissur, Kerala by using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay. A total of 200 dogs suspected of tickborne haemoprotozoan infections were screened by both light microscopy and PCR targeting the 18S rRNA gene of B. vogeli. The comparative evaluation of the two techniques for detection of pathogens revealed that PCR detected a higher percentage of positive cases (27 per cent) when compared to light microscopy (18.50 per cent). Phylogenetic analysis showed that the sequence obtained in this study had close relations to sequences from India, France, the USA, Germany, Thailand, Taiwan, Brazil, China, and Tunisia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]